“Once I became official to my teammates, I knew who I was. I knew that I was gay. And I knew that I was Michael Sam, who’s a Mizzou football player who happens to be gay. I was so proud of myself and I just didn’t care who knew. If someone on the street would have asked me, ‘Hey, Mike, I heard you were gay; is that true?’ I would have said yes."

"I just want to own my truth," he told the NYT.

It's a historic moment for the league, and for American professional sports in general. Barring something unforeseen, there will be an openly gay NFL player in 2014.

From the league:

NFL: “We admire Michael Sam’s honesty & courage. Michael is a football player. Any player with ability and determination can succeed in NFL”

Sam was one of the central leaders of the 2013 Missouri team that went 12-2 and earned a place in the SEC Championship Game.

The fact that he come out to his team before the season, no one cared, and they went on to have one of the best seasons in school history should answer any questions about the effect of having a gay player in the locker room.

"I don't think football is ready for it just yet. In the coming decade or two, it's going to be acceptable, but at this point in time it's still a man's man game. To call somebody a [gay slur] is still so commonplace. It'd chemically imbalance an NFL locker room and meeting room."